Monthly Archives: December 2014

I love shoes. There is always room, time, money for another pair. Shoes make you look pretty. Shoes make you feel good. Shoes don’t talk back. And shoes don’t care if you gained a few pounds – they always fit.

But let’s be real…there are shoes and then there are SHOES. Beautiful, breathtaking, pieces-of-art shoes. Shoes so lovely, I’d be scared to wear them, unless I was carried on a sedan chair from the limo to the VIP lounge. Enter: Christian Louboutin.

Long before the striking red sole (known as ‘sammy red-bottoms,’ official color code Pantone 18-1663 TPX) became a trademark, Christian was a rebel, drawing sketches of shoes, dropping out of school and moving to a friend’s place at age 12.

He claims his fascination with shoes began in 1976, when he visited the Musée national des Arts d’Afrique et d’Océanie on the avenue Daumesnil. It was there that he saw a sign from Africa forbidding women wearing sharp stilettos from entering a building for fear of damage to the extensive wood flooring. This image stayed in his mind, and he later used this idea in his designs. “I wanted to defy that,” Louboutin said. “I wanted to create something that broke rules and made women feel confident and empowered.”

In the 90s and 2000s Christian helped bring stilettos back into fashion, designing dozens of styles with heel heights of 120 mm (4.72 inches) and higher. “I want to make a woman look sexy, beautiful, to make her legs look as long as I can”. We love that, don’t we!

At the Miami Design District boutique the master showcases both his lower-heeled versions and the famously dressy evening-wear designs incorporating jeweled straps, bows, feathers, patent leather, red soles, and other similar decorative touches.

The small and intimate space is definitely worth a visit, even if you just browse. Touching allowed. Better yet, have a glass of bubbly and buy your favorite pair. I know I did.